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Unless this is your first day visiting planet Earth, there's a good possibility that you're already quite familiar with what makes today's date - March 12th - quite significant in the Apple-fan and at-large tech community. Today marks the date that Apple's long awaited tablet computer known the world over as the iPad officially goes on sale for pre-order.

Beginning at 5:30 a.m. (Cupertino, California time, of course) customers who order any of the three Wi-Fi versions of the tablet can expect delivery (at home or in store) on April 3rd. Additionally, on that occasion, the iPad will go on sale at all US based Apple stores.

As we already know, the Wi-Fi models (which will be released to the public first) can be purchased at starting prices of $499. It won't be until late next month, however, that the three iPad models designed to work over 3G will hit the market.

All eyes will be on Apple today and industry analysts will be watching the initial public interest in the iPad very closely - and not just in the US. By the end of next month, the iPad will be widely available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

In anticipation of the release, Apple's stock has continued to explode, proving a big winner for Nasdaq in the last twelve months - a time frame that has seen Apple's stock double in value.